Valtteri Bottas has signalled an early warning to his former team Mercedes to ensure that it doesn’t repeat the mistakes it made in 2021 if it hopes to give Lewis Hamilton a better shot at winning the championship.
Mercedes has been the strongest team on the circuit for a number of years and even though the constructors’ championship was bagged by the Silver Arrows last term, it was clear that Red Bull had made significant strides.
New regulations which have directly impacted the design of the car are believed to make the sport a more even playing field. Mercedes is no longer expected to enjoy the sort of breathing space at the top of the standings as it has in recent years.
The aerodynamic changes in particular are believed to make it a far more evenly contested battle on the track.
Perhaps the fate of all teams will be up in the air till pre-season testing in Barcelona. One can argue that even this is more of a facade and the true nature of the various challengers can only be assessed during the season opener in Bahrain.
Shakedown tests have already begun in the past week, this is only for drivers to get a better feel of the cars they will be using through the course of the season.
Mercedes accepts 2021 mistake
Last year, Mercedes had decided to ignore this and instead chose to try the car out in pre-season testing.
This didn’t work out quite as Toto Wolff and co. would’ve imagined as both Hamilton and Bottas had a woeful first run.
Having since been shown the door by Mercedes, Bottas had admitted that Mercedes made a big mistake in its decision-making.
“Of course now, yes, we would have done it before, but in recent years everything has been pretty bulletproof and certain things have already been run on the dyno,” he had said after pre-season testing last year.
“So yeah, we would say now. I’m sure that will be reviewed for next year.”
It appears as though Mercedes may well have taken this advice on-board and has been prompt in arranging a shakedown test after releasing its car in front of the public eye.
In a press release, Mercedes said, “The W13 will hit the track later in the day for its first shakedown.”
This will be the first time Russell will be seen in Mercedes as a full time driver. It will be interesting to see how he fares as Hamilton’s teammate.
Do you think he will be the surprise of the season and score more points than Hamilton? Let us know in the comments below!
Read more: Hamilton would finish last if he was driving a Williams or Haas: Gasly